31 January 2016

Love Sex Machine - something that can cause
your partner to query your recent Google searches when you have not told her
the name of the band you are currently reviewing - are a band from Lille in
Northern France, currently signed to Lost Pilgrims Records (as well as
Throatruiner Records) and this is a review of their second album 'Asexual
Anger'. They deal in sludge metal and the cover is a little sick and
twisted, which is what you would want from a sludge metal band. Now I
would be telling fibs if I said I knew much about them before them; however,
with a bizarre album title, cover and brilliant name, it is time to find out
what this band are all about......

Starting the album off is the title track "Asexual Anger" which is
bathed in feedback and heavy drumming from the start; the guitars crackle to
live and then the band drop the main riff like a titanic version of Meshuggah
and Crowbar had decided to release an album together. It swirls with a
huge amount of aggression, it pounds the audience into submission and it does
not take any prisoners. It moved at a slow pace, but that is what you
want from this music - anger with powerful riffs and loud drumming!
"Drone Syndrome" continues along the same sort of lines as
"Asexual Anger", but this time the mood has taken a turn for the
worst. It is a heavy, dark and oppressively atmospheric number that
sounds as massive; I mean this is on the scale of Mantar and Strapping Young
Lad huge (two bands who truly bring it when it comes to riffs for this
blogger), this song is one that I have not stopped listening to since I was
first sent the album and it is a mind blowing number. Truly this is one
of the high lights of this release and worth checking out. "Black Mountain"
takes things even slower, the speed is starting to be measured in terms of
glacier speed at this point as the sludge pours out of the speakers with such a
low frequency that it will rattle everything in your room when played loud
enough. But the loss of speed is replaced with a giant riff that rips
through the air and grabs hold of the listener, it is a strong and powerful
riff which peaks at all the right points and builds back up to smash into
without warning or care. The first half of the album comes to an end with
"Aujeszky" and this fades in slowly with the band already starting to
warm up with some strong feedback, loose drumming and a hint of bass rumble;
that is until the main riff of the song starts and the bass seems to be turned
up to 10, it sounds fucking gigantic in terms of sound and depth. It is a
brilliant tune that sticks around in your mind long after it has finished and
ends the first half of the album on a perfect note with could smash holes
through walls; as first half as albums go, this is a really good start.

The second half starts off with "Devolution", after a short hint of
droning feedback the band launch straight into another slab of sludge that is
not for the weak of heart. It rumbles like the sound of Armageddon being
unleashed upon the world, the dynamics of the riffs, that bass that hooks it
all together and the drums that sound like thunder brings to life one of the
best songs I have heard in 2016; as the album has progressed, the quality keeps
improving. "Atrocity" is the next song and this starts with the
sound slightly muffed, as if it is being heard through a wall as you enter into
a venue; after a few moments the muffled sound becomes clear and you are back
in the pit with destruction beginning to reign down on the world. It goes
between slow and uber-slow sections, never settling longer than required on
either and taking the noise to new depths, it is a strong song with a great
riff and performance which drives the album onwards. Sadly, we are already
at the penultimate song which is called "Infernal Spiral". This
is the shortest song on the album at just over three and a half minutes in
length and it is straight into the action, into a swirling riff that is
accompanied with the sound of screams and harrowing noise that is this band's
cocktail of choice. It is the first song on the album where there is a
little room for improve, it could have been stretched out as that riff if
fucking awesome; but that is one a small qualm considering that the song still
sounds as tight as fuck. Ending the album is the bizarrely titled
"Silent Duck" (it truly is called that, not a misspelt word) and the
speed can now only be measured in terms of the growth of trees, ages will pass
and this song will still match that same pace as it goes on forever towards the
end of existence at a droning pace. With each listen, this monolithic
monster improves and you hear more from the band as it unveils a sound that
would make people who attend the Roadburn festival weak at their knees. It ends
this album on a truly high note, leaving nothing standing in its wake.

This album is very impressive, from the opening note to the fading last clash
of the symbols there is not a foot placed wrong on this record. It feels
like the first time I heard Conan and Mantar, this band has a special spark
about them and this album should be the launch pad to great things for the
band. Apart from an extension to one song, this album is a rare thing for
this listener; it is a sludge album that can be experienced in one sitting and
you will get even more joy with each subsequent listen. This band are a
group I will follow with great interest from now on, this album is one that you
should listen to as soon as possible.

I have so
many reviews in the pipeline that I have sort of developed writers block, so
in order to recharge my batteries I have decided to review an album that I have
not listened to in many years that I used to play religiously. But not
one of my big hits, something that I loved but I did not play to death and
ended up mundane and drab. Which brings me to this album here, 'Scream,
Dracula, Scream!' by Rocket from the Crypt. When this first came out I
had it on CD and record (or vinyl if you are a hipster), one for in the house
and one for travelling back in the days when music was more important that
other things (music is still a high priority, but so is having a roof over my
head). I remember that summer as I listened to this in a loft, looking
out of the window and time seemed to be going forever. But the album is
now 21 years old, and I am no longer a young man; but I am not having a
mid-life crisis and wanting to buy cars and have a confidence crisis - I am
just wanting to see if this album still holds the magic that it had for me all
those years ago when I first fell under its charm. Brief back story to
the album itself; Rocket from the Crypt formed in 1989 and this was their
fourth album, it is their best known in the UK and it was their highest
charting album at 41. The album is a trilogy of releases from the band in 1995
(together with the album 'Hot Charity' and the EP 'The Streets of Art is on
Fire'). It also had three singles in the top 75, with "On A Rope"
reaching number 12, they were on lots of TV shows and looked like they would
take over the world; however, they just seemed to keep at the level that suited
them. However, it is not the future of the band I am talking about, it is
this album and now it is time to see how it has aged and if it is still the
powerhouse I remember to be......

"Middle"
starts this album, it is not so much a song as an explosion of riffs, drums and
horns; the words are - Are You Stuck In The Middle, Are You Broken, Are You
Damn - or various variations on those words. It sounds like "Feel
Good Hit For The Summer" by Queens of the Stone Age before they took the
idea and added Rob Halford and it is still in my top ten opening track of an
album ever. It sounds like it has attitude dripping from every pour, it
reeks of cool and this has not changed since the first time I heard it crackle
out of the speakers - this could be a good review. "Born In
'69" is actually the first song I heard from the band, it felt like a
shock to the system and made me want to dance around like a silly person; these
days it just makes me smile as you remember those days when everything seemed
different. It is a fun two minute, punk rock anthem that is designed to
make you bounce around and it is not trying to sell you something, be a hip
brand or even be cool - at the time these guys were up against the end of
grunge and the emergence of brit-pop, you could not have had a different
look. The chorus has a sick hook that will stick in your mind for ages
and it has aged very well indeed. Next is "On A Rope" which (as
previously mentioned) was their highest UK charting single, it was the only one
that would be played when I went out and it did get the "Smells Like Teen
Spirit/Walk" treatment (songs which you love, but they get over played too
much. Thankfully, there has been a lot of distance since those dizzy days
and now it just sounds like a fine rock n roll number, mixed in with a little
punk and with a catchy chorus that is missing from the modern music
scene. When I was younger it was always this trio of songs that made me
smile, to this day it is still the same. "Young Livers" was one
of the three tracks to be released from this album, it is a mid-paced punk n
roll anthem which has a decent hook, nice riff and the band sound good on the
song; but I have always thought it was not the best track to be a single, it
just lacked the punch of the others and that is still the same now. It
delivers the good times and it is a great song to hear live, but it does not
hold your attentions as other songs do on this album.

Next is the
song "Dropout", much like most of this album, it is just a rebellious
song that does not have much in the way of lyrical context to dig into; it is a
song about dropping out of the system and not giving two fucks about the
world. To this day I still do not know why this was picked over
"Young Livers", as good as the other song is performed, this is the
superior track and still floors me after all these years. It just sounds
like it comes from a dark part of the mind of the band, it is pissed off and it
just is going for broke as it has nothing to lose - it is a lost anthem on this
album, there is more of them to come (this is probably turning into a love
letter to this album, oh dear......). "Used" was a song that I did
not appreciate until years later, it is an old school rock n roll song that is
crafted in a truly old school vein and when I was younger it was not a number I
appreciated as much. It just felt a little light, but the older me wants
to smash the back of the younger me around the head and tell him off. It
is just a gem of a track, it has the right amount of boogie, attitude and the
perfect mix of sound to give this album a different side. It might not be
the song I would return to the most if I am honest, but it is the most improved
number for me and that is a big tribute for me as I was not fussed by it at all
before, now I think it is one of the best on the album. "Ball
Lightning" however, is a song that has not really hit me; the song itself
is performed as good as good as anything else on the album, it is also a song
which I can see an argument being made for it being another lost classic from
the album. But it has always been one that does not make me as excited as
other songs on the album, but it has once again improved over the years with a
slight surf rock undertone being weaved into the tone of the number.

The second
half of the album starts with "Fat Lip" and it sounds like the fight
beginning once again for the band on this song, it has a large dose of
aggression that was missing from other numbers on the album, which to be fair
is probably for the best as you need light and shade on a record to make it
more fluid. This one sounds as if the band were trying to create a song
that captures their chaos and combines the punk and rock n roll, it does it
perfectly as they sound fierce and on fire with this number. "Suit
City" is another song that did not gel in my mind when I was a kid, it
just seemed to fizzle out and go nowhere fast for me back then; but in the here
and now, it has improved massively. It starts with a climbing, looping
riff before the rest of the band join in and take this simple tune and drive it
as if the devil himself is on their tails - younger me really knew jack shit
when it came to music. "Heater Hands" slows things down
slightly, but not the intensity. It is a bruising number that could start
a fight in an empty room, it has the devil may care attitude and does not give
two fucks what the rest of the world thinks. Whilst I has still not
warmed to it after all this time, I can appreciate it for what it is - a good
song that will have its audience and sound like a party is about to
erupt. "Misbeaten" is more rock n roll than punk, it has that
old school vibe that would not be out of place in a 50's era movie and would be
used to give the audience a break in their live shows. Out of the (for
want of a better word) gentler sounding songs on the album, it is still the one
that makes me smile the most, it just seems to go back to a time when the songs
were innocent and everything had hope and high prospects. The song itself
is not so innocent as it is a song about rejection, something that is familiar
in many love song; it is a hidden gem on this album and is one that people
should not skip over.

"Come
See, Come Saw" however is a song that keeps on improving as the years go
by for me, each time I listen to it I just wonder why it was left as an album
track when it is one of the best the RFTC ever wrote (much like
"Dropout"). The bass and drum combo at the beginning indicates
the way that the song is going to go as it pulses along and grabs your
attention from the start, shortly to be joined by the guitars, brass section
and vocals as the band into another high-octane, punk rock spliced with a large
dose of rock n roll and streak of attitude that can probably be scene from the
international space station (that last bit might be a fib). The
penultimate track is called "Salt Future" which takes the pace down
to a rebellious stride and makes a noise that would not be out of pace in a
rock n roll gang style war; greasers and jocks are about to have a brawl and
this is the soundtrack to the fight. It is a great little number and
whilst it might not be the song I would go to straight away on the album, I
have always had a soft spot for it as it just oozes style and confidence.
Ending the album is "Burnt Alive" which takes even more out of the
sound, the guitars are toned down, there is an organ attached to the song, the
drums sound as if they are being hit like a heart beating fast whilst driving a
fast car, the brass section drives the number higher and gives this song a
distinct sound to the rest of the album. Again, this is a song which I
did not appreciate when it first came out and it is only years later when it
has made sense; but not I just smile each time I hear it and it is another of my
favourite songs off this album.

This album has matured incredibly well, considering there is a ton of albums
from that time which now sound like hyped up pieces of shit. The songs
have taken on a life of their own for me, it is no longer the going out album that
I used to listen to. It is an undiscovered gem of a record that showed a
band at one of their peaks. It is not the deepest of records, it can
never be accused of talking about the big issues of the day; but that is not
what Rocket From The Crypt are about, they are just a rock n roll band who are
trying to bring the party to you. I love this record, it is about two
tracks too long and I do not care - you would be a fool not to listen to is!
Scream for them interlink!!!!

8.5 out of ten - Oh, now you have my attention and maybe my money, time and
heart

Life of Agony can never be accused of taking the easy route, that is something that can be said for them. It could be the fact that the...

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Album scoring system

0 - This is proof there is no deity1 - You're really are touching the bottom of the barrel with this one2 - If only there was some quality control3 - It could have been a bit better4 - Well it's alright, but still......5 -Not for everyone but played well6 - Now I see where you were going, but it's not quite there7 - This is good and well worth a check8 - Oh, now you have my attention and maybe my money, time and heart9 - Almost perfect....Almost10 - This is proof there is a deity(For albums that are too crazy to be marked)Crazy Cat symbol - This album cannot be marked, so here is a box of kittens

Singles/EP Marking System

0 - Only to be listened to by people bless with the gift of being deaf1 - Not so much on the bad that it is bottom of the barrel, but it can see the stuff down there2 - Not bad, not good - so average it is Zen3 - Decent, getting there4 - This is really good, well worth checking out5 - I wish I had extra ears to love this more(For Singles/EPs that are too crazy to mark)Crazy Cat symbol - This release cannot be marked, so here is a box of kittens